E.S. Raye

*”Perseid” is misspelled in the URL because I misspelled it in the title of this blog! But even though I can easily fix both, I won’t be fixing the URL because then all the links I shared will break. Oh well, just goes to show you should always spell check!

I’ve got some great news to share this week!

After more than a year of talking about it with friends and poking at a website without actually getting much done, I am finally launching my own indie speculative fiction magazine!

With a first issue releasing on April 1 (no joke, I promise!), Perseid Prophecies: Science Fiction, Weird Fiction, Fantasy & Fact will be open! It will be a quarterly magazine, released on the first of the month following each season change (e.g., spring begins March 19, hence April 1; issue 2 will drop July 1 after summer starts June 20).

I aim to feature a wide range of stories from several genres. This may include, but is not necessarily limited to:

• Science fiction of all flavors
•  Weird fiction
•  Cosmic horror
•  Supernatural horror
•  Fantasy, especially of the darker variety.
•  As well as exciting or topical science fact articles

The first issue will be compromised entirely of works from the public domain, but I do intend to open submissions for those looking to get their name and work in front of readers. However, for now, I cannot compensate writers for their work with anything more than that limited “exposure.”

While I will welcome anyone who wants to submit to Perseid Prophecies, it is for this reason I suspect public domain stories will remain a significant part of the magazine for a while to come. And that’s okay too, as it helps serve another purpose I am proud of: introducing new readers to the works of the classic masters like Ray Bradbury, Tom Godwin, Poe, and Wells. Hell, even if I am inundated with stories from writers willing to submit under these terms, I’ll still likely keep sharing a public-domain story or two in each issue.

The magazine will be free to download from the Perseid Prophecies website, but I will also set up a Patreon for those who want to support what I’m doing in the coming days and weeks. I’m not sure what I’ll be offering each tier quite yet, but it will likely be advanced cover and author reveals, early access to the magazine, perhaps exclusive stories for subscribers, and maybe a discord channel for discussions.

It’s funny. I came up with this idea as a place to share my own stories that I couldn’t find a home for. And maybe I’ll still do that occasionally, but now it’s become more important to me to share good short stories and support my fellow writers – those just like me, trying to get their stuff published and break into the world.

So, with that in mind, I hope you’ll join us for the ride! Check Perseid Prophecies over the next few weeks for site updates, especially on April 1, when the first issue goes live!